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Air pollution inside Philly’s subway is much worse than on the streets

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The air quality in the City Hall subway station in downtown Philadelphia is much worse than on the sidewalks directly above the station. That is a key finding of our new study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

We are an environmental scientist and a biochemist who assessed the air quality ...Read more

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Ask the Pediatrician: How to keep children safe this Halloween

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Spooky season is in full swing with costumes and festivities galore! Halloween can be an exciting and creative time of year where children can be whoever they want to be. Whether they’re dressed up as scary monsters, a blushing princess or anything in between, it’s important to make sure safety is a top priority.

Some extra precautions can ...Read more

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How Minnesota figures into the presidential politics of insulin prices

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

In June 2019, Lija Greenseid handed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz an empty vial of insulin that her 13-year-old daughter had painted gold.

Greenseid’s daughter has Type 1 diabetes, which means she requires daily injections of manufactured insulin to stay alive. The price of a single vial of insulin rose by about 1,200% between 1996 and 2018, and ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Treating breast cancer through surgery

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Globally, 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, according to the World Health Organization. Advances in treating breast cancer are improving care and quality of life.

Hear from Dr. Sarah McLaughlin, a Mayo Clinic breast surgical oncologist, in this Mayo Clinic Minute.

Treating breast cancer may include personalized ...Read more

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The Medicare Advantage influence machine

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Federal officials resolved more than a decade ago to crack down on whopping government overpayments to private Medicare Advantage health insurance plans, which were siphoning off billions of tax dollars every year.

But Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials have yet to demand any refunds — and over the years the private insurance ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Tips to prepare for a sensitive medical appointment

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

An appointment with your health care professional can be particularly stressful when it involves sensitive or intimate concerns about your body. However, addressing these concerns early is crucial for potentially detecting or identifying serious conditions like cancer.

Dr. Kristina Butler, a Mayo Clinic gynecologic oncologist, understands that ...Read more

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A free drug experiment bypasses the US health system's secret fees

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A top California health plan is set to offer one of the world’s biggest-selling drugs for free in a bid to show the medicine can reach Americans affordably without going through the middlemen that typically control its flow.

Blue Shield of California struck an unusual deal to buy a lower-cost version of Humira directly from a manufacturer, ...Read more

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Whooping cough cases are skyrocketing in Pennsylvania, which has more than any other state

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania has seen more cases of whooping cough than any other state this year, with 2,165 cases of the serious bacterial infection reported as of late September.

At this time in 2023, the state had reported 205 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This year's cases represent a 956% increase from the year...Read more

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Commentary: Instagram teen accounts -- Just one front in the fight for mental health

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

It’s good news that Instagram has launched stricter controls for teen accounts, strengthening privacy settings for those under 18. Underage users’ accounts are now automatically set to private mode. The platform is also implementing tighter restrictions on the type of content teens can browse and blocking material deemed sensitive, such as ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: Could groin pain be a sports hernia?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 17-year-old son plays high school soccer. After a recent game, he began complaining of pain in his lower abdomen that radiates down to his inner thigh. His primary care physician believes he has a sports hernia. What is this condition, and how is it treated? What other sports injuries cause groin pain?

ANSWER: A sports ...Read more

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Prostate cancer: Family history, genetics and your risk

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, exploring what may have contributed to your cancer might not be at the top of your list. However, learning about your family history and the genetic characteristics of your prostate cancer can help your care team zero in on the best treatment plan for you.

Daniel Childs, M.D., a Mayo Clinic ...Read more

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Possible human case of bird flu in Central California. They work at an infected dairy

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The California Department of Public Health is tracking a possible case of human bird flu originating in the Central Valley.

An employee at a Central Valley dairy facility has a “presumptive positive” test result for H5N1 — the highly pathogenic virus that has attacked poultry facilities across the United States before “jumping” to ...Read more

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Chicago sees steep drop in number of deaths tied to opioid overdoses

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

CHICAGO — Chicago and Cook County are on pace to see a drastic decline in opioid-related fatalities in 2024, keeping with a nationwide downturn in fatal drug overdoses since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health and law enforcement officials point to a variety of factors that could be responsible. Increased community outreach, ...Read more

Up against Hank Greenberg, baseball’s first Jewish superstar, antisemitism struck out

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Hank Greenberg might be the best baseball player you’ve never heard of.

Greenberg was the first baseman for the Detroit Tigers during the 1930s and 1940s. His career was relatively short – 13 years – and interrupted by two stints of service in World War II.

Yet outside the war years, there were glorious seasons.

...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: Setting boundaries for your well-being

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm a people-pleaser by nature and have difficulty saying no or setting limits in my relationships. How can I start to create healthier boundaries in a kind yet firm way?

ANSWER: People have various types of relationships, including partners, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors and acquaintances. Different ...Read more

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Lyme disease and ticks that carry it spread across the US

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Lyme disease is one of the most prevalent insect-borne diseases in the country, with far more cases each year than other diseases carried by mosquitoes, fleas and ticks, such as the West Nile virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent Lyme disease data is from 2022. That year, there were more than 62,000 reported...Read more

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Lilly weight-loss drug copycats dealt blow as shortage ends

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Eli Lilly & Co.’s blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs are no longer considered to be in shortage in the US, threatening to upend the many knockoffs that became popular when patients couldn’t find the brand-name medicines.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that the shortage of Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro is resolved....Read more

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Vance-Walz debate highlighted clear health policy differences

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz met in an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News that was cordial and heavy on policy discussion — a striking change from the Sept. 10 debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Vance and Walz acknowledged occasional agreement ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: The exceptional egg

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Eggs are an incredibly versatile food. Not only are they a natural in every meal, whether breakfast, appetizer, snack, or dessert, they are an ingredient in a wide range of foods.

The folklore

Humans have been eating eggs for about six million years, and as early as 1400 BC, birds were laying eggs specifically for consumption, according to ...Read more

5 fall superfoods to support your immune system during cold and flu season

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The temperatures are dropping and sweater weather is nearly upon us. This is when we bust out our slow cookers or turn to comforting fall soups. Though fall can bring a variety of delicious seasonal flavors, the cooler temps can also bring on cold and flu season. While no specific food is a surefire way to prevent illness, there are certain ...Read more